Night of the Dragon Riders
by Spinofflady
Summary: After Stormfly is captured by the hunters, Astrid is left stranded in the ocean. Hiccup successfully rescues her before it's too late, but the two have a very trying night ahead of them.
1. Chapter 1

Astrid clung to the log with all the strength she had. Another wave rolled under her, lifting her up and down through the water. Her stomach flipped and her nausea doubled. She tried pull more of herself onto the tiny log. It simply rolled, and she was drifting in the water again.

A wave crashed over her, filling her mouth with water. She coughed it out, but the saltiness remained. It made her thirstier, more nauseas, more exhausted than she was before. Where were the others? Why hadn't they come for her yet? Were they even looking for her?

She tried to push the disheartening thoughts from her mind, but the thoughts of being stranded forever and never seeing Stormfly again would not leave. What could those horrible Dragon Hunters be doing to her beloved Stormfly? Were they torturing her? Had they killed her already? She gripped the log a little bit tighter. She couldn't let anything happen to Stormfly.

A chill worked its way throughout her body. Her teeth began to chatter. She let her shoulders dip below the water; it felt warmer than the air around her. She felt a wave rise up behind her, but did not expect the force of which it crashed down on her. The log was tugged away from her and she fought to get it back.

Exhaustion and cold overwhelmed her. She couldn't keep fighting much longer. The sea was tossing her around like a feather in wind, and she didn't have the strength to continue. The storm showed no signs of calming. Oh, if only there were someone around to rescue her! She didn't care if they were friend or foe. Even if it were an enemy that saved her, she would having a better chance of surviving them than this storm. She didn't even care if it was Dagur the Deranged. He was better than no one.

Lightning hit the water in front of her. She hardly reacted. Every ounce of Hofferson grit she ever had was being used to keep her head above the water. Her grip on the floating wood loosened. A huge wave washed over her. The log was pulled away from her. She reached for it, but she couldn't get to it. Her eyes closed and she started to sink. She wondered why she wasn't fighting back, why she wasn't swimming for the surface. The answer was she simply couldn't. She just couldn't.

Her lungs began to ache. Air. She had to get air. She tried to will herself to swim, but she was just too weak. She hadn't eaten anything, she had no water, and she had tossed about in a storm for hours. She breathed out the air in her lungs, and continued to sink. She slowly drifted toward the bottom of the ocean.

Something suddenly caught hold of her wrist, and pulled her toward itself. It wrapped an arm around her waist, and began drag her upwards. She felt herself being pulled out of the water, and a blast of cold air engulfed her. She forced herself to breath in. She couldn't open her eyes. She felt like a Gronckle was sitting on her chest. She drew in another small breath.

" _Astrid!_ " The voice was small and far away. It sounded muddled, as if she was still underwater.

" _Astrid!_ " She knew that voice. Somehow, she knew that sound. It was a good sound, too. It's didn't sound like Dagur or that Dagon Hunter she met that morning. She could feel someone's arm around her back. Whoever this was held her tightly, yet their grip was still gentle and caring.

"ASTRID!" The voice was louder and more desperate this time. She forced her eyelids to open. Her vision focused, and she realized it was Hiccup's voice. Relief flooded through her. She had never been so happy to see him in her life. She wanted to throw her arms around his neck and sob, but she couldn't let him off the hook that easily.

"What took you so long?" she murmured hoarsely.

Hiccup grabbed her and pulled into a hug. "Oh, thank Thor," he gasped, his voice cracking ever so slightly. Astrid relaxed into him. He was warm, and she was so cold. His arms felt safe, and she finally allowed herself to slip away. With a groan, she let herself fade into an exhausted sleep.

She didn't realize this would scare Hiccup half to death, and as soon as he felt her go limp, he assumed the worst. Had she just died in his arms? He immediately pressed his ear against her chest, but her could not hear a thing over the storm. Was she breathing? He couldn't tell. He watched her chest for a moment. There it was, rise and fall.

"C'mon Toothless!" he shouted, switching the gears in the dragon's tail. "It's a long way back!"

The three raced back to the Edge, the wind growing fiercer every minute. Astrid was beginning to look worse-good Thor, she was shivering so hard. Hiccup glanced around for something to keep her warm with. Of all the times he needed a survival pack, this was the time he didn't bother to bring one.

At one point he considered wrapping his shirt around her, but it would make much of a difference. In fact, it might make things worse. He was soaking wet from diving in the water, and the wind had chilled the fabric so that even he was beginning to feel cold.

He saw Fishlegs and Meatlug in the distance, still searching for Astrid. "Fishlegs!" Hiccup shouted, waving his free hand. "Fishlegs!"

Fishlegs saw them and started in their direction.

"We found her!" Hiccup called, "Get the others and meet us back at the Edge!"

Fishlegs nodded and set off.

They had traveled several miles by the time Hiccup spotted their base in the distance. He pulled Astrid's cold body closer to him and urged Toothless faster. The rain stung their bare skin like a thousand bees.

They landed outside of Astrid's hut. Hiccup jumped off of Toothless and lifted Astrid into his arms. She moaned even though she was unconscious. "Hang in there, Astrid," he comforted, shifting her weight around to make her easier to carry. "You're almost there."

With Astrid in his arms, he approached the door, and tried to push it open with his back. Unfortunately, it was latched, and Hiccup didn't have a free hand to open it.

"What do you think you're doing!?" Someone behind him demanded. Hiccup turned around to face the one and only Snotlout Jorgensen.

"I'm trying get Astrid inside," he replied, confused.

"Yes, but you're carrying her."

"So?"

"So, I should be carrying her! Don't you think she'll want to wake to the face of her Viking in shining Gronkle iron?"

"Since when are you Astrid's 'Viking in shining Gronkle iron?"

"Since forever."

"Will you just open the door?"

"No."

"Now, Snotlout."

"No, Hiccup."

"Snotlout, I swear, if you do not open this door I will remove your right to call yourself a man!"

"Yeah sure, like _you_ are capable of doing that." Snotlout snorted, but he opened the door anyway.

Hiccup pushed past him and hurried over to Astrid's bed. "Snotlout!" he ordered, "Start a fire!"

"Why do I have to start the fire?" Snotlout complained.

"Because I told you to!"

Hiccup gently set Astrid down on her bed. He proceeded to remove her shoulder guards and boots. He was trying to figure out how he could get her leggings off appropriately when Fishlegs came waddling into the room.

"I found the twins," he gasped, "but I couldn't find- oh, hey Snotlout."

"Fishlegs, is Ruffnut with you?" Hiccup asked urgently.

"Yeah," Ruffnut said, stepping into the room.

"Ruff, I need your help."

Ruffnut's eyes grew wide. "Did you guys here that?! Hiccup needs _my_ help! Not yours, just mine. Your command is my wish, Master Hiccup."

"Um, I pretty sure it's 'your wish is my command.'" Fishlegs said with an "obviously" tone.

"Tomato, tomahto."

Hiccup groaned. "Listen, Ruffnut. I need you to take off Astrid's wet clothes and put her in some dry ones."

Ruffnut was utterly appalled. "You mean take off _all_ her clothes?"

"Yes."

"And see her buck naked?"

"Ruff, that's not the point."

"Why are you trying to pawn it off on me? Couldn't one of you do it?"

"No, Ruffnut. One of us could _not_ do it."

"Why not?"

"Because we are men, and it is definitely not okay for men to remove a woman's clothing."

"Don't you think calling yourselves men is kinda pushing it?"

"Ruffnut Thorston-"

"Don't you 'Ruffnut Thorston' me! Only Tuffnut is allowed to do that! And he only uses it in emergency situations!"

"This _is_ an emergency situation!"

"How!?"

"Because if we don't get those wet clothes off of her, she will catch hypothermia."

"Hypo-what-mia?"

"Hypothermia. It means that her body temperature will get so cold she'll die."

"She'll freeze to death?!"

"You're on the right track."

"Wait. So if you and Astrid were lost in the wilderness, and she was gonna catch hypo-hernia, would you take off her clothes?"

"If I had no other choice, yes."

"So why can't you do it now?"

"BECAUSE WE ARE NOT LOST IN THE WILDERNESS AND I DO HAVE ANOTHER CHOICE!"

"Gosh, Hiccup. You don't need to freak out. I'll do it."

"Thank you."

Hiccup led the others out of Astrid's hut. They all left to put on fresh clothes, but by the time they got back, Ruffnut still wasn't finished. When they asked her what was taking so long, she angrily yelled: "You try dressing a 120 lb. rag doll!"

Ruffnut finally let them in, and everyone was surprised to find Astrid dressed as well as if she had dressed herself.

"Wow, Ruff," Hiccup praised, "You put on her boots and everything!"

"Yes," Ruffnut replied mournfully, "and now I am scarred for life."

"Oh, for the love of Thor, Ruffnut! You're both girls!"

Ruffnut only shook her head and left the hut.


	2. Chapter 2

Hiccup quickly moved over to Astrid and sat down the bed beside her. "You think she's okay, Fishlegs?" he asked, looking over at his friend.

"I don't know, Hiccup," Fishlegs replied worriedly, flipping around through his healing book. "She most likely hasn't had anything to eat or drink today, and from the looks of it I'd say she's petty dehydrated. Her cheeks look a little flushed, so she might have a low fever."

"Wait," Snotlout broke in, "I thought we were worried about her catching Hypothermia."

"We are," Fishlegs answered, "but up until a certain point of cold, our bodies try to counter it by raising the body's temperature. If Astrid were to continue to get colder, she would get hypothermia. So for now, the fever is a good thing."

Snotlout shook his head and headed for the door. "You guys are too confusing. I'm going to bed."

"Great. Sleep well." Fishlegs called after him. "Oh, thank goodness he left. It's so hard to focus when Snotlout's around." Hiccup didn't reply, but Fishlegs continued anyway. "He can be really loud sometimes, and I can never get any studying done… Hiccup, are you alright?"

Hiccup glanced up, drawing himself out of the trance he had previously been in. "Yeah, I'm fine," he answered softly. "I just- I can't help blaming myself for what happened."

"And here we go again with this exercise. Hiccup, why do you always blame yourself when something goes wrong?"

"Because I'm the one who is supposed to make sure nothing happens to you guys. My dad gave me the responsibility of keeping everyone safe, and he expects me to follow through with it. _I_ expect myself to follow through with it. Astrid could have died out there, Fishlegs. She would have drowned if I hadn't pulled her out in time, and when she passed out…oh, gods…I thought she had died." Hiccup's voice cracked slightly, and he propped his head up with his palm.

Fishlegs tried to say something, but Hiccup cut him off. "What would I tell her parents if she had died? That I had rescued their daughter five seconds to late? That she died in my arms?! How would they ever forgive me?!" Hiccup's angry expression faded into a more sad and serious one. He closed his eyes and drew in a breath. "How could I ever forgive myself?"

"Everyone knows that you try your best Hiccup, but no one is perfect. If Astrid were to have died, it would not have been your fault. You tried your best, and that's all that matters." Fishlegs gave him a quick pat on the shoulder and left the hut.

Hiccup stood up and walked over to the fire and stared into the flames. He thought back over the night. He recalled his worry of Astrid being gone all day. The fear that had clutched at his chest while they searched the ocean for her. Seeing the top of her head just as it dipped under water. Holding her, praying that she was still alive.

What if he hadn't found her in time? What if she had drowned and they never found out what had happened? He left his place near the fireplace and sat down on the bed next to Astrid. She was so still. His chest tightened painfully as she let out a quiet moan. This was not the Astrid he knew. That Astrid was a fighter. Not even Eel Pox could weaken her. But this Astrid—she was so quiet and frail.

Hiccup nervously took one of her hands in his own. Her fingers were so cold. Had she been awake, he most certainly would not be holding her hand. (He might try, but Astrid would never let him get away with it.) Now, however, he snatched the opportunity. Astrid hardly stirred at all.

With his free hand, Hiccup pressed his palm to her forehead. How in the world could her head be so hot and her fingers so cold? He sighed and brushed her bangs off her forehead, hoping that the air around her would help to cool her. The sun must have baked her. It had been a particularly warm day, and out in the ocean with no water, Astrid must have withered. No wonder she was feverish.

It suddenly dawned on Hiccup that she wasn't shivering from cold, it was from fever. The fever must have started earlier in the day, and when the storm hit, she got chilled. He released her hand and covered her with a second blanket; maybe she would sweat the fever out.

He stood to find some water and a towel to sponge her head with. He didn't know much about healing, but he had watched his Aunt tend to wounds and illnesses of all sorts. She had moved to a different island when Hiccup was twelve, but he had never forgotten what he'd learned. (Or so he thought. There was quite a bit he'd forgotten, but how can one tell what one has forgotten when one can't remember it?)

He searched around her hut for a while, but soon realized that she had nothing in her room. He left her hut and walked to his own hut, Toothless shielding him from the rain with his wing. He found a cloth and a clay bowl, which he filled with water and carried back to Astrid. He entered her hut, and was surprised to find her sitting up in bed, fully awake. She stared at him blankly, shivering a little. Her arms were wrapped around her stomach, and her shoulder's were rounded slightly.

"Hey, Astrid," he greeted gently, setting his items down and sitting beside her. "You doing okay?"

Astrid glanced at him. "I don't feel good," she replied softly.

"I know," Hiccup soothed, rubbing her arm. "You just need to rest."

"I don't feel good," she repeated, her breath beginning to quicken. She stared at her knees, her lips parted just enough to allow air to enter. Hiccup searched her face for an explanation of her strange behavior.

"Oh, Thor," he realized suddenly, "you're gonna be sick, aren't you?"

Astrid nodded weakly.

Hiccup quickly scanned to room for a container of some form. He did _not_ want her tossing the contents of her stomach onto the bed. The only thing he could find was the clay bowl of water he had brought earlier, which of course was obviously still full of water. Glancing back over at Astrid, he decided he would much rather clean up water off the floor than vomit off the bed.

He stood up and grabbed the bowl, dumping the water on the floor, allowing it to drip through the planks of wood. He rushed back over to Astrid, and passed her the basin. She took it gratefully and held it in front of her. Hiccup sat beside her, and thinking of nothing better to do, her began to rub her back. Astrid started to retch, and finally heaved up whatever she had in her stomach. She leaned into him as she caught her breath.

"You okay now?" Hiccup asked, turning so that he could look her straight in the eyes.

She nodded and whispered: "Sorry."

"Hey, there's nothing to apologize for," he told her, smiling gently. "Everybody gets a little sick sometimes."

He had tried to help her feel better, but it didn't seem to make much of a difference. Odin, she had to be mortified. Astrid didn't even like coughing in front of people for fear she would appear weak.

"Aright," he said with a smile, taking the clay bowl from her. "You sit tight, and I'll get rid of this and bring you some water. I'm going to get Fishlegs, too. He knows more about healing than I do."

Astrid shook her head vigorously. "No, don't get Fishlegs."

Hiccup sighed. "Okay."

He glanced back over his shoulder at her as he left the hut. He walked to the edge of the deck outside her hideout, and dumped out the bowl's contents. He set it to the side to be washed, and hurried back to his own hideout to gather the supplies he needed.

The rain had let up, but lightning still flashed in the distance. Hiccup made his way back to Astrid's hut, creeping past everyone else's rooms. It had to be at least midnight if not later, judging by the moon. He quietly slipped into Astrid's cabin and closed and latched the door behind him.

Astrid sat on her bed, leaned up against the backboard and hugging her knees. Hiccup resumed his place sitting next to her, and immediately noticed how flushed she was. He placed the back of his hand on her forehead, and sighed heavily. Her fever was most definitely higher.

"Are you still doing alright?" he asked, rubbing her arm.

Astrid stared at him for a moment, her blue eyes brimming with tears. "I wanna go home," she finally whimpered, leaning forward and practically falling into Hiccup's arms.

"To Berk?" Hiccup clarified.

"Uh-huh."

"I'll tell you what. It's still storming right now, but you just hang on for now, and I'll take you home tomorrow."

"Okay."

"Do you think you can drink some water in the mean time?" He felt Astrid nod. He was beginning to like how agreeable she was when she was really sick. Hiccup reached for the glass of water Fishlegs had brought in earlier and passed it to Astrid. She took a few sips and began to cough. He took the cup back and set it on the table next to her bed.

"Hiccup?"

"Yes?"

"I think I might be sick again."

"Okay," he replied, reaching for the bucket he'd brought with him for this exact purpose. It wasn't but a minute later before Astrid had used it, bringing back up the tiny amount water she'd managed to drink.

Thinking he might need to grab the bucket again, he set it underneath the table. She was so dehydrated, but if she couldn't keep any water down, there wasn't much he could do. She looked so thoroughly miserable sitting on the bed, almost in tears.

Astrid had decided Hiccup was the only form of comfort she was going to get, and so she rested her head on her shoulder. "My throat hurts," she whispered.

"I bet."

"I'm cold."

Hiccup picked up a blanket and wrapped it around her shoulders, keeping his arms up underneath it to warm her. She relaxed into his chest, and sat listening to his heartbeat. Resting in his arms, she realized how much he'd grown over the past two years. Not too long ago he was shorter than her, but now she could look up at him.

And his eyes, oh, his beautiful, deep, forest green eyes! She could stare at them all day. She loved the way he bit his bottom lip when he was working. It was adorable. She always laughed at how he got frustrated whenever he was writing, because his hand would smear the letters. And his smile! Her stomach fluttered just thinking about it. She could picture the way the corner of his eyes would crinkle, and how the little white scar on his chin would move ever so slightly whenever he grinned. She couldn't think of a single thing she didn't love about him, and on several occasions she had tried.

Holy Freya, he was just so _perfect._

Hiccup suddenly rested his head on hers, as though he thought she was asleep. A few strands of his hair brushed against her forehead, liquefying her stomach. (Which didn't feel so great, seeing that she was really nauseas.) She buried her face in his chest, breathing in the comforting smell of part leather, part… was that cinnamon?

He placed a cool hand behind her neck; it felt so good on her excessively warm skin, but her chest tightened at his touch. His thumb was fiddling with her braid, and she could now feel his warm breath on the top of her head. A chill of pleasure ran down her spine. Oh, Thor, did he want this to happen?

No, he did not. Hiccup had no idea what he was doing. He didn't realize that he was what caused her shivering, and not the fever. If he had known, he most definitely would have stopped, but he didn't, and Astrid was certainly not going to tell him. And because she didn't say anything, he assumed she was asleep, so he allowed himself to dose off, his head resting on hers.

Astrid finally ran out of energy and drifted off to sleep, and it was about time, because the sun was peaking up over the eastern horizon.


	3. Chapter 3

"Hiccup. Wake up."

Hiccup slowly opened his eyes, blinking to focus his vision. Fishlegs stood in front of him, a slightly amused look on his face. "What?" Hiccup asked, trying to remember why his face was buried in Astrid's hair.

"You fell asleep," Fishlegs replied, still amused.

"Yeah, so?" Hiccup answered groggily.

"You fell asleep with Astrid."

"…Crap."

"And Snotlout saw, and was jealous so he's planning on telling your dad."

"Double crap."

"Seriously, Hiccup. No PDA on Dragon's Edge."

"How can you show PDA if there's no 'A?'"

"Oh, there's definitely an 'A', Hiccup." Fishlegs grinned.

"Oh, yeah. That- that's real mature, Fishlegs."

"I'm just merely making observations," Fishlegs said in a sing-song voice, setting another log on the fire. "And you might want to get a few of those blankets off her. She cooking under all of those."

Hiccup scowled at Fishlegs and removed several of Astrid's blankets. He leaned her back on the bed ever so carefully, trying his hardest not to wake her. He finally stood up and stretched, trying to ward off his sleepiness. How much sleep had he gotten? It couldn't have been more than a few hours.

Snotlout and the twins presently marched into the hut. Snotlout seemed very sure of himself for some reason, and the twins stopped halfway across the room to have a staring competition.

"So, Hiccup," Snotlout began smugly, "How was your night?"

"Um, exhausting?"

"Really? There must have been some serious smut going on."

Hiccup groaned. "Snotlout, there was no smut. Believe me, none."

"I don't know, Hiccup. I find it hard to believe that you two were here all night, by yourselves, and no smut happened."

"Seriously? Why can you not except the fact that absolutely nothing that falls under the category of 'smut' happened?"

"Not even a kiss?"

"No."

"Wow, Hiccup. For once I thought you might be a real man, but I guess I was wrong. Not even a kiss. How lame."

That was the straw that broke the dragon's back. Hiccup had already had quite enough of Snotlout the night before, but this? Oh, he'd gone too far this time! "Lame!?" Hiccup shouted. "There is NOTHING lame about showing Astrid some respect! Just because we were alone does NOT mean that smut happened! Grow up, Snotlout! Making out with a girl _undoubtedly_ does NOT make you a man!"

Snotlout stared him completely shocked. Since when did Hiccup get this angry?

"And besides that," Hiccup went on, "Astrid and I are not married! Therefore there will be NO smut!"

"You could get married," Tuffnut broke in, still staring at his sister. "I mean, no one said you couldn't."

"Correct, Tuff. No one said we couldn't get married. BUT THAT IS BECAUSE NO EIGHTEEN YEAR OLDS SHOULD BE GETTING MARRIED!"

"Why not? You're adults."

"I was rounding. Astrid's still seventeen."

"Then why did you say she was eighteen?" Ruffnut asked.

"As I said, I was rounding."

"Make up your mind, Hiccup," she replied. "You can be so Thor-darn confusing."

"Fine. Astrid is seventeen. Can we please drop this topic?"

"Sure," Tuff agreed. "Back to the wedding arrangements. Ruffnut and I will do the decorations and reception, since that's our specialty. Snotlout will be the best man, Fishlegs will be the maid of honor, and the dragons will be the witnesses."

"I hate to burst your bubble, Tuff, but Astrid and I are not getting married."

Tuffnut ignored him and went on. "We will also need to send for Stoick, so that he can perform the ceremony. Now, on to wedding colors. I was thinking a few shades of pink and some sapphire."

"No, no," Ruff scolded. "Astrid doesn't like pink. She likes forest green, like Hiccup's eyes."

"That's kind of weird Ruff, and how in the world do you know?" Hiccup asked rubbing the back of his neck, slightly embarrassed.

"We were playing truth or dare."

"So you asked her if she liked my eyes?"

"No, I asked her if she thought you were hot."

Now Hiccup was _really_ embarrassed. First Snotlout thought he and Astrid had hooked up the night before, and now Ruffnut was telling him about Astrid liking his eyes. He wished the ground would swallow him. Why oh, why was this so awkward? Had it been any other girl, he would've been fine, but no, it was _Astrid_.

"What did she say?" Tuffnut begged.

"You know what, let's not go there," Hiccup said quickly.

"She said he was adorable and that he was the sexiest guy she'd ever seen and she totally wished he'd ask her out and that every time he talked to her she got a super bad case of the feels-"

"That's probably enough, Ruffnut," Hiccup put in, praying that she would stop.

"-and that hot didn't even begin to cover him and she was dying to see his-"

"RUFFNUT!"

"-bare chest-"

"I guess that's better."

"-and how she couldn't understand how he didn't get that the four times she'd kissed him meant 'I'm totally digging you' and how she dreamed of spending her whole life with him and that he was so brave for having lost a leg at fifteen-"

"I didn't lose all of it."

"-and and how dreamy his eyes were and how she could watch him working in the forge all day and that the way he was with Toothless just captured her heart and how she had already thought of the names for their kids and that the way he smiled at her made her life complete and that she was telling me all this in complete confidence- oh, yeah. She told me all that in confidence. You guys weren't supposed to know."

"Ruff! You've got to be kidding! She told that in confidence and you just blurted out every last detail?!"

"Believe me, Hiccup. There is much more to tell. She told me every element of her romantic fantasies. Some of which, I must say, were rather dirty. There was this one where you two sneaked into the woods and had a serious make-out session complete with-"

"That is quite enough, thank you. I really don't care to know everything about Astrid's romantic fantasies."

"But Hiccup," Tuffnut said, so appalled that he broke the staring contest. "How will you know what she expects your love-life to be?"

"We don't have a love-life. And if we by some chance in the distant future did, she would tell me what she wanted. It is not something that I would need to find out from a truth-or-dare game. Now, this conversation is officially over."

Ruffnut and Tuffnut looked rather disappointed. They were obviously enjoying making Hiccup uncomfortable. They didn't realize, however, that they had done far more that make him uncomfortable. They had humiliated him.

Astrid groaned in her sleep, drawing everyone's attention to her. They all crowded around her, Hiccup dropping to one knee beside her bed. She twitched a few times and sat bolt upright.

"Stormfly!" She gasped, her eyes full of terror.

"Hey! It's okay, it's okay." Hiccup tried to calm her. "Just try to relax Astrid, you had a tough night."

"No, no, no!" she continued desperately. "You don't understand! They were all in cages—and they have Stormfly!" She looked as though she might cry.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa. Wait, wait. Cages? What are you talking about? What happened out there?"

Astrid glanced away and breathed out slowly, attempting to calm herself. "Dragon Hunters."

Snotlout, Ruffnut, and Tuffnut gasped, and Fishlegs whimpered and backed up ever so slightly.

"Dragon Hunters?" Hiccup repeated, trying to understand.

"A whole fleet of 'em."

"And they have Stormfly?"

"Yeah," Astrid replied, giving a quick nod. "And the big, ugly one—when I get my hands on him-" She trailed off and balled her hands into fists.

"And…welcome back," Fishlegs muttered under his breath.

Astrid heard, but ignored him. "Come on! Let's mount up!" She jumped out of bed and ran down the hatch that led to the stables. "Stormfly!" Out of habit she called to her dragon. She realized what she had done and quickly looked back to the other riders.

Hiccup smiled at her, dark circles showing under his eyes. "You can ride with me," he offered.

She smiled her thanks and climbed out of the hatch. The riders were soon flying towards the beach where Astrid had seen the Hunters. Hiccup veered a little away from the group.

"Hey Astrid," he started nervously, "You know how Ruffnut doesn't know when to keep her mouth shut, right?"

"Yeah," Astrid replied. "Where are you going with this?"

"Well, earlier she shared some stuff that you had told her in a truth-or-dare game."

"So?"

"It was about me."

"Oh, Thor," she groaned. "What did she say? And please don't spare details. I want to know if she exaggerated."

"Well, there was stuff about how you thought I was hot, and that you liked my eyes, and…uh…you got the feels, whatever that means, when I talk to you. She also said that you thought I was brave because I lost my leg, and you wanted to marry me so bad you had already named our kids."

"Did she say anything about me wanting to see you with your shirt off and my romantic fantasies?"

"Yeah, actually."

Astrid started to giggle.

Hiccup was surprised. "You don't care that I know?"

"Not really," Astrid chuckled. "That truth-or-dare game was played at two in the morning, when Heather was here. She was convinced that we were a 'thing,' and wasn't going to give up until I admitted it. I didn't want to choose any dares because they would probably have me make out with you or something, so I kept on picking 'truth.' So when Ruffnut asked me if I thought you were hot, I decided I would just give them what they wanted and maybe they would let the subject go.

"I told them all the mushiest things I could think of and even threw in a couple of romantic fantasies, which, don't worry, were made up on the spot. Some of them ended up a little dirtier than I wanted them to be, but both of them believed me. Just to add to the credibility of the story, I told them that what I had said was confidential."

"Really?" Hiccup asked, both relieved and disappointed. "You just made it up?"

"Most of it," she replied.

"What didn't to make up?"

"Well, for starters, you're one of the bravest people I know."

"Really?"

"Yeah, and not just because of your leg. You can be so sweet sometimes too, like you were last night."

"Last night was because I was worried sick about you."

"No, really Hiccup. I was feeling so miserable and you just sat there and held me. Thanks. It meant a lot." Astrid wrapped her arms around his chest and squeezed him. She even worked up the courage to rest her head on his shoulder.

"You're welcome," Hiccup said with a smile, leaning his own head on hers for just a minute.

"And Hiccup?" she started again, picking up her head to whisper in his ear.

"Yes?"

"I really do like your eyes."

 **THE END… OR SHALL WE SAY,**

 _ **THE BEGINNING**_


End file.
